DeWalt Miter Saw Lawsuit Claims Safety Features Failed, Caused Injury

Lawsuit follows a 2022 DeWalt recall of nearly 1.5 million miter saws, which was issued after hundreds of reports of rear blade guard failures and multiple injuries.

A Florida man has filed a product liability lawsuit alleging that a defective DeWalt power saw caused severe hand injuries, despite prior safety concerns and a nationwide recall involving similar models.

The complaint (PDF) was brought by Travis Jarrett in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on March 17. It names Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc. as the defendant, claiming the manufacturer sold a dangerously defective saw with a safety guard prone to failure.

Miter saws are specialized power tools designed to make precise, quick and repeatable angled cuts in materials like wood, metal or plastic, using a circular blade mounted on a pivoting arm that lowers onto a stationary workpiece.

These saws are equipped with a safety guard, typically a plastic or metal piece that covers the saw blade when it is not in use. As the saw is lowered to make a cut, the guard automatically retracts, then springs back to cover the blade immediately after the cut is completed.

Jarrett’s case points to an August 2022 DeWalt miter saw recall impacting roughly 1.5 million devices, which followed nearly 600 reports of rear blade guard failures, including at least nine injuries. He cites the recall as evidence that the manufacturer was aware of potential safety risks associated with the saw’s design.

The lawsuit indicates Jarrett was using a DeWalt saw on April 29, 2024, for its intended purpose when the blade guard suddenly came loose, exposing the spinning blade and allowing it to strike his right hand. The incident allegedly resulted in deep lacerations that required surgical treatment.

Despite the prior recall, Jarrett claims the same guard defect remained in his saw, leading directly to the failure that caused his injuries.

According to the complaint, the saw was defectively designed and manufactured, creating an unreasonable risk of injury for users even during normal, foreseeable operation. The lawsuit further alleges Black & Decker knew or should have known about the defect, yet failed to adequately warn consumers or remove the product from the market.

Jarrett contends that the saw’s guard system was inherently unsafe because it had a tendency to loosen, break or detach, exposing users to the blade. The lawsuit also alleges the company failed to properly test the product and ignored safer alternative designs that could have prevented the injury.

In addition, the filing claims the saw did not perform as safely as an ordinary consumer would expect, and that the risks associated with the design outweighed any benefits, particularly given the availability of safer alternatives.

“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ concealment of such defects, its failure to warn consumers of such defects, its failure to remove a product with such defects from the stream of commerce, and its negligent design of such products, Plaintiff used an unreasonably dangerous saw, which resulted in significant and painful bodily injuries.”

— Travis Jarrett v. Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc.

The lawsuit raises allegations of strict liability, design defect, manufacturing defect and negligence. It seeks punitive damages to compensate Jarrett for his injuries, including medical expenses, pain and suffering and other losses.

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